Before the New Year and Christmas holidays, since 2019, the Lidl company, in cooperation with the Red Cross of Serbia, has been organizing the "Small Deeds Are Big Things" campaign, and since last year they have also had a mascot for this campaign - Rasa the Raccoon, who brightened up the holidays for children in Svratishte and those who live in NURDOR houses and recover from illness. What is this campaign and what are its results
At the entrance of Lidl stores throughout Serbia, from November 12 to December 6, consumers were greeted by volunteers from the Serbian Red Cross. From them it was possible to find out what Lidl's solidarity action "Small deeds - big magic" actually means, which has been held since 2019 in cooperation with the Serbian Red Cross.
Upon entering the store, the "Vremena" reporter found volunteers who gave her a leaflet with the message that by purchasing basic foodstuffs, consumers donate to the beneficiaries of the Red Cross and thus brighten up their New Year and Christmas holidays.
Aleksandra Mirić from the CSR department of Lidl Serbia tells "Vreme" that at the beginning this action was called "Small deeds are big things" because their idea was to encourage the understanding of their consumers that, no matter how small the donation of one product, when everyone contribute, it still becomes a big deal.
"This year, our entire pre-Christmas campaign is connected with the magic of the New Year holidays, and therefore our idea was to connect this action with that, so we renamed it 'Small Deeds - Big Magic.' And nowadays, we simply feel that when we all do good together, it creates a kind of magic that makes this world and life better", explains Aleksandra Mirić.
Oil, flour, rice, coffee, pasta, personal hygiene products and other long-lasting products could be seen in a basket behind the cash register, where there is a designated place to deposit donations. Red Cross volunteers were waiting for consumers there. One of them told "Vreme" that the citizens responded well to the action, and that the majority had already been informed. For those who did not know, the volunteers certainly explained what it was about at the entrance.
Donated food is picked up by Red Cross volunteers, and then distributed to beneficiaries directly or through the National Kitchen Program.
In addition to the basic foodstuffs, toys, clothing, and chocolate could be found in the basket, Aleksandra Mirić points out and adds: "We are always happy about that, because even though it is not something that is the most basic, it still indicates someone's desire to brighten up this period for someone." .
"This year, the campaign ends on December 6, but what we hear from the 56 communities where this campaign is implemented is that the reactions of the citizens are positive, we had practically a good response from people in all places. Consumers received from our volunteers not only verbal but also written information, i.e. leaflets, which clearly inform them about the purpose of this action, and in this sense, we are grateful to Lidl for this kind of corporate responsibility. At the same time, Lidl has been a traditional partner of the Red Cross all these years," Ljubomir Miladinović, Secretary General of the Red Cross of Serbia, told Vreme.
RACCOON RACHA, A STAR AMONG THE YOUNGEST
Limited series of plush toys Raccoon Rush mascot is this action from last year. This year, by purchasing Raccoon Raša, consumers directly support this campaign because Lidl donates 100 dinars from every raccoon sold to the Red Cross for the National Kitchen Program and thus provides additional support for the work and activities of this organization.
"Every year we try to improve this action in some way, in the sense that last year we introduced the mascot Rasha the Raccoon and that time we provided food for one meal to the Red Cross Soup Kitchen Program from each raccoon sold. This year, we decided that it would be a financial donation," says Aleksandra Mirić.
He explains that the campaign with the raccoon was launched by the head office in Germany, and that this mascot is present in all countries in Lidl stores before the New Year and Christmas holidays and is connected with some humanitarian gesture: "Is it a donation of food, is it a donation of money or something else that contributes to the betterment of the community, each country can choose for itself".
"We decided to connect him with the already existing campaign 'Small deeds are a big thing (that is, magic)' and to have him be the mascot of it all. It is very well received, especially by children, who really love it and are happy to 'adopt' it and take it shopping", says Aleksandra Mirić.
He tells how, in addition, the company also organized the visit of the Rasa mascot to the stores, and it was nice to see how the little ones were happy and excited when they saw him in the store. "We also send Rasha to other locations, for example to cheer up the children who live in 'Nurdor' houses together with their families and are recovering from illness. Last year, as well as this year, he visited the Inn in Belgrade. The delight of those children, that joy and that hug of a huge two-meter mascot is beautiful. Overall, the association of such a cute mascot with this campaign turned out to be a complete hit. We noticed that the consumers somehow responded more to it, and therefore the results are better", indicates Aleksandra Mirić.
HUMANITY IN ACTION
When the "Small Deeds Are Big" campaign was launched in 2019, the results showed that consumers donated 15 tons of basic foodstuffs, and Lidl allocated funds for the purchase of equipment for 20 soup kitchens across Serbia.
In 2021, the action was carried out again and consumers donated 10 tons more food than in 2019, and Lidl then donated equipment for the Soup Kitchen Program.
In 2022, consumers donated basic food and personal hygiene products worth about 2.200.000 dinars, while Lidl donated equipment for the National Kitchen Program worth 1.100.000 dinars.
Last year, which is also the latest data, consumers donated more than 23 tons of products. Lidl donated food for 10.000 meals from the sold raccoons. In addition, he donated equipment for public kitchens worth 1.800.000 dinars.
"From 2019 to today, the results are continuously growing and even in the years when we were afraid that they would not be good due to the financial crisis and some other external reasons, our consumers still found opportunities to do something good and to donate, even though the situation was certainly not good for them either. ideal", says Aleksandra Mirić.
On the one hand, the results of the collected items show that there is a significant increase in the results of this campaign, states Ljubomir Miladinović and adds that Lidl enables them, like the Red Cross, to be present in all their facilities throughout Serbia.
"In addition to this part in which our volunteers participate in supporting citizens, providing basic information for what purpose, for what purpose, who are the beneficiaries of what citizens donate, we also have great support from Lidl, that is, part of the funds at the level of one million and 800 thousand dinars for strengthening the capacity of the Red Cross in the National Kitchen Program", emphasizes Miladinović. "Why is it important?", explains our interlocutor, "because the Program (kitchens) started way back in 1992 and more than 170 million cooked hot meals have been prepared in it so far".
"In order to have high-quality caloric-nutritional safe food prepared for users, you must also have equipment that requires attention, that requires it to be handled in a certain way and correctly, and on that side it is very important that Lidl allows the Red Cross to the organization replaces equipment, replenishes colection machines, refrigerators. Of course, we don't forget the educational part either, which is that in this way our volunteers not only talk and not only train for humanity, but also are humane in action, and that is a great value", indicates the interlocutor of "Vremena". .
CAMPAIGN AS TRADITION
Lidl's corporate social responsibility strategy is divided into three dimensions - good for the planet, good for people and good for you. This campaign is part of the good for people dimension. "Together with consumers, we are doing something to improve the community in which we operate", says Aleksandra Mirić. "We recognized the importance of such socially responsible campaigns in examples from some other countries where Lidl operates. In the meantime, our head office in Germany recognized how many possibilities a coordinated action has, and since last year, other Lidl countries have been participating in this action," says our interlocutor. He adds that the symbol of last year's action was Raccoon Rush, and that this year's, in addition to the raccoon, is New Year's and Christmas magic.
Will the cooperation between the Red Cross and Lidl continue in the future - Ljubomir Miladinović confirms absolutely. "The essence of this action is, on the one hand, for Lidl to show its corporate responsibility for the community in which it exists, but on the other hand, this is also an example of how we try to motivate others who may not have had the opportunity to be involved in actions like this."
He adds that this is why they plan, with the consent of their partners, to continue with this kind of action because it helps other people and other companies to see that there is a way to help and that there are always people in every society who need support and help.
"That is the purpose and essence of the existence of the Red Cross, so that no one is forgotten and that there is a possibility that when we have our great volunteers, we can also help those who need that help," explains Miladinović.
Finally, he says that the message would be to invite all those who can and want to join such activities of the Red Cross because they should not be limited only to the period before the New Year or Christmas. "On the contrary, let's think about the fact that those who need help and support do not have such needs only during the New Year holidays, but these are needs that we need to support throughout the whole year", concludes the Secretary General of the Red Cross of Serbia.
And Aleksandra Mirić agrees that it would be wonderful if they could have such donation campaigns every day in stores and that they are currently considering it. "We have not yet come to the point where we realize these kinds of actions daily, continuously, because simply logistically it represents a big challenge not only for us but also for our partners and that is why we are currently limited to this pre-Christmas period. Of course, we wish to implement all the projects that we implement, which are aimed at the well-being of people, in such a way that they become a part of everyday life", concludes Aleksandra Mirić.
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